Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #47 - A Good Day for Stopping a Judicial Election - Bowen Turner’s Latest Ride to Jail + Texts Expose Volatility of Michael and Sara Lynn Colucci’s Marriage

Episode Date: April 18, 2024

Investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell continue to shine the light on a corrupt judicial system in South Carolina. This week they helped bring attention to and did their part to stop the legislature from electing prosecutor David Miller to a judgeship — after exposing Miller’s role in getting thrice-accused rapist Bowen Turner a secret soft plea deal in 2022. Also on this 47th episode of the True Sunlight Podcast, Mandy and Liz break down what happened during Bowen Turner’s latest ride to jail this past March (spoiler alert: he’s exactly the racist, homophobic, misogynistic person they thought he was). Plus listeners get another look into their deep dive into the Sara Lynn Colucci case. We’re now one month away from Michael Colucci’s retrial for the 2015 death of his wife. Mandy and Liz share what they’ve learned about Sara Lynn’s volatile relationship with Michael in the weeks leading up to her death. Premium Members also get exclusive access to Liz and Mandy breaking down Alex Murdaugh's appeal(s) for his state murder charges and now federal financial crime convictions... If you think you've seen Michael Colucci out and about in the last 5 years, contact the SC AG's office here: 1-803-734-3970 You can watch the videos of Bowen here: Inside the Highway Patrol car: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUoGg0HBOho Officer's Dash on scene: https://youtu.be/SZ_0ILElGLE Officer's Dash on scene: https://youtu.be/6Gk2KOOtLuc And everything Mandy and Liz found in the footage proves what they’ve been saying this whole time: Bowen belongs behind bars... Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight...☀️ In April we’re offering your first month of Soak Up The Sun membership for 50% off. Join Luna Shark Premium today at Lunashark.Supercast.com. Premium Members also get access to searchable case files, written articles with documents, case photos, episode videos and exclusive live experiences with our hosts on lunasharkmedia.com all in one place. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3BdUtOE. And for those just wanting ad-free listening without all the other great content, we now offer ad-free listening on Apple Podcast through a subscription to Luna Shark Plus on the Apple Podcasts App. Or become a Premiere Member on YouTube for exclusive videos and ad-free episodes. SUNscribe to our free email list to get that special offer for first time members, receive alerts on bonus episodes, calls to action, new shows and updates. CLICK HERE to learn more: https://bit.ly/3KBMJcP Visit our new events page Lunasharkmedia.com/events where you can learn about the upcoming in-person and virtual appearances from hosts! And a special thank you to our sponsors: Microdose.com, PELOTON, and VUORI. Use promo code "MANDY" for a special offer! For current & accurate updates: TrueSunlight.com facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/ Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod Twitter.com/mandymatney Twitter.com/elizfarrell youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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If you need some time to think it over, here's five seconds. Ah, doo, da, da, dee, da, dee, da, doo, doo. Certain conditions apply. Details at phys.ca. I don't know what made David Miller, the prosecutor in the Bowen Turner rape case, withdraw his name from consideration for judgeship this week. But I do know that the work we do here to get justice for victims and make our system better matters.

I realized this week just how much it matters to keep that momentum going to expose the many Bowen Turner's of the world. My name is Mandy Manney. This is True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption previously known as the Murdoch Murders Podcast. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production written with journalist Liz Farrell. This week was an absolute rollercoaster of emotions. And thankfully, we landed in the sunlight. My trip to Kansas was healing.

I know I talked a little bit about this on last week's show, but I was still feeling the rush of emotions as I was trying to finish the episode last Thursday. So I want to go back to last Wednesday. Sandy Smith, David, and I all woke up at 5 a.m. to go to the airport. It was Sandy's first flight ever and I wanted it to be a great experience for her. But y'all know airports, they are rarely great. We barely made our first flight. I was low on sleep, stressed from finishing last week's episode, and stressed about prepping

for a speech at the Kansas Governor's Crime Victims Conference. Throughout the day, however, I learned a big lesson from Sandy. She smiled and laughed through every hiccup, including an incredibly rude American Airlines flight attendant. Well, right before our connecting plane took off from DC, Lunashark journalist Beth Braden texted us

that the South Carolina Highway Patrol had just sent the Bowen Turner dashcam video, which we had been waiting over a month to receive. Turner is the thrice accused rapist who got a sweetheart deal in 2022 thanks to lawyer lawmaker Attorney Brad Huddo. Turner screwed up that deal almost immediately and was thrown in prison under the Useful Offenders Act for violating his parole. He served over a year in prison before he was released last November and by March, he was already back behind bars for a DUI

crash in Florence County, South Carolina. We filed a FOIA request for the video because it was the first opportunity for the world to see who Bowen really was and how he treated people, specifically how he treated the female officer. We will talk about this in a minute. The video was a big deal and I was so proud of our team to be first to release this video. Working with a few shreds of airplane wifi, David and I managed to direct our amazing Lunashark team to get the video up and out. I contacted Sarah Ford and Dallas Stallers family and warned them that the videos were going to be triggering but validating. From the bits I could see through all the chaos, the video proved them right. Bowen was the monster that they warned the world about.

So our team, Liz Farrell, Beth Brayden, Zamberlyn, Allie Pavlich, Kate Thomas, and Aaron Frye worked together while we were in the sky to blast the video out to our members and to the world. They did an incredible job and I was proud and relieved when I landed. Then I took a deeper look at the numbers on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and I'm not going to lie, I got a little angry. The video had everything showing that Bowen Turner was an entitled monster who was dangerous to society. We no longer had to describe who he was.

It was all right there, everything we needed, for every single person who protected this man to feel deep shame and regret. He was racist, sexist, homophobic, aggressive, arrogant, disrespectful, and downright disturbing. I wanted this video to be everywhere. I wanted the world to be as outraged as I was. Unfortunately, I've learned that we need that level of universal outrage here in South Carolina just to get justice for people who don't have connections and that is a cold hard fact. But it put my outrage to the side and I

focused on her speech at the Kansas crime victims conference. On Wednesday night as I was very low on sleep, defeated from the day and increasingly concerned that I was going to bomb my speech, I asked Sandy if she was nervous. Nervous? No! Sandy said with a beaming smile. We are doing this for Steven and for victims.

They matter. There is nothing to be nervous about. And just like that, my nerves calmed and Sandy put everything into perspective for me. The work that we do matters. Inspiring people to fight for victims. That matters. I remembered, the crowd isn't going to focus on me stumbling over my words or whatever small thing I was afraid of.

It was the work and the mission that they wanted to hear about. It was truly an honor of my lifetime to be able to speak to a room full of Justice Warriors in my home state of Kansas with Sandy Smith, the fighter of all fighters at my side. I cannot wait to share the full video with premium members. Sandy was incredible. She got a room of 500 people crying, laughing, and cheering her on in her fight for justice for Steven. I lost count of the amount of standing ovations she received. It was empowering, and it left me feeling all sorts of good. So I got back to work on Monday, ready to fight the good fight.

Well, sort of. I spent Monday in an angry and slightly depressed days. Why didn't more people care about Bowen Turner? Are people so used to this kind of injustice that they just don't care anymore? Why aren't more people freaking out about the AG's lack of concern for the upcoming Kaluchi murder trial. Why did it take Maggie and Paul to be murdered before the world started paying attention to Elick Murdoch and his web of crimes?

My thoughts got deep and dark. And then I decided to do something. I did what I do best on my least favorite social media platform, but the best for situations like this. I tweeted a thread about Bowen Turner. I laid out every maddening detail between a sweetheart deal, the victim's tragic side of the story, his state senator attorney,

prosecutor David Miller and his quest to become judge, and the amount of times that the system gave this man a pass. Finally, my social media world seemed to wake up. People from all over were sharing Bowen's story and the outrage, and quickly, over three million people saw those tweets. On Tuesday, a few hours after I posted about Bowen on Twitter and Instagram, a fan reached

out and told me that the legislature was going to vote on David Miller becoming a judge on Wednesday. Side note, I am slightly annoyed with the South Carolina State House schedule and how confusing it is. It is like you have to be an insider to figure out when important things are going on, and something tells me that is by design. Anyways, Liz and I fired off a few tweets begging people to call their lawmakers and vote no on David Miller, because the system simply cannot afford to promote a man who

appeared to care more about what Brad Hutto thought of him than he did about public safety. I texted a slew of statehouse sources who told me that David Miller had this in the bag, pretty much. They told me it was a done deal that the legislature would vote him in as a judge. I started to prepare for a depression spiral. I started thinking that maybe, honestly, South Carolina just wasn't the place for me. I didn't want to live in a state that allowed someone like David Miller to become a judge after everything that we have exposed.

I was thinking of starting a new career somewhere else and saying goodbye to Lunashark. I know y'all, call me dramatic, but I take these things personally and I want you to know that. Then, like universal magic, Sarah Ford texted Liz and me with big news. David Miller had dropped out of the race. He was no longer in the running to become a judge. I felt a wave of motivation and energy like I hadn't felt in a long time. This work, this mission to expose the truth wherever it leads, give a voice to the victims and keep the story straight,

it truly matters and it does make a difference. I spoke with Dallas' sweet dad last night, and he said, miracles do happen. We agreed to encourage each other to keep fighting the good fight, because every once in a while, the good guys win. And that win means making our state a better place. I kept thinking last night of the butterfly effect

of David Miller's decision to drop out of the race, how it sent a message that this business of prosecutors trying to be judges, giving it a lawyer lawmakers dirty deals, those days are over. I thought about how horrifying it would be to be a rape victim in David Miller's court, knowing what he agreed to as a prosecutor for Bowen Turner. And I was scared to think about all of the what-ifs for a guy like David Miller in a judge's robe. I don't know if and how our work

had anything to do with Miller's dropout, but I realized this week what matters is that we fought, we stood up, we raised our voices, and we won. That is a victory we must celebrate. And I want to thank every person who made phone calls and noise and post on social media about this case because I am more motivated than ever right now and I am ready to keep shining the light on other cases. Last week we gave you a little bit of a preview about what was in that FOIA that we've gotten back right as we were finishing up True Sunlight. It was the dashboard camera footage from Bowen Turner's March 9th arrest

after he flipped his father's Chevy Silverado on Papermill Road in Florence, South Carolina. Bowen was charged with DUI, open container, not wearing a seatbelt, and, surprise surprise, resisting arrest. I say surprise surprise because last time when Bowen was arrested in 2022, he threatened to bite the finger off of a deputy and he called the female employee of the bar where he had just been drinking underage a quote unquote bitch because she wouldn't drive him home. Also, we had heard that this dashboard camera footage in this rest was particularly egregious, so foeing for it was a no-brainer for us.

Plus, we wanted to see for ourselves whether the boy who keeps getting second chances has made good on the grace that has been given to him. Spoiler alert, the answer is a hard no. Before we play the audio of this, we want to warn you that it's intense. If you've ever been in an emotionally abusive relationship or any situation involving sexual assault, this could be particularly difficult to listen to. Obviously, this doesn't involve an assault, but as you all know, rape is about power. And on this car ride to jail, Bowen's sole objective is to gain power over the situation, specifically over the will of

the female patrol officer. To achieve this, he uses all the tricks. He's loud, he's belligerent, he's insulting, and then immediately apologetic. He acts like a child having a tantrum. He lies, he gaslights, and he tries to play the victim. He asks for favors and he acts like he's being wronged because he's not being extended any sort of special treatment. Anyway, it's a lot and we just want you to know that before we get into it. But that said, boy were we all right about this guy. He is exactly who we thought he was and since we posted the full video on YouTube last week we've heard from a lot of you telling us that he's exactly how you imagined him to be. This is what we mean when we talk about two systems of justice. This is a monster who got created because of David

Miller's willingness to cut a secret plea deal for a powerful lawyer legislator and because of that powerful lawyer legislator's ability to move mountains for paying clients like this guy. So let's start with Bowen's first goal on the ride to jail. He wanted out of those handcuffs. Can we undo these cuffs, please? No. I cannot. Can I please have a cigarette? No.

Well, excuse me, ma'am, because you're arresting me for something that you don't have paperwork for. Okay. So let's be honest now. Okay. All right. Don't worry. You haven't breathalyzed me. Wow. That is just the first 20 seconds and it is horrifying.

The tone that this man uses while he speaks to the officer who arrested him. My mother would disown me if I spoke to anyone like that, let alone an officer of the law. Let's be clear here. Bowen was lucky to be alive at that point. He was lucky to be sitting there in the front seat of the highway patrol vehicle with the energy of an obnoxious five-year-old who just got a boo-boo and wants their parents to feel bad.

Several of y'all have asked why he was in the front seat. And while we explain this on COJ, but I'll explain it again, apparently highway patrol doesn't have cages to transport people. And it is safer to have a potential defendant riding next to a police officer than riding behind them. I don't understand why they didn't have another officer in the car for safety reasons, especially when it comes to this female officer.

And I hope that the highway patrol looks at this policy and changes it. So Bowen should have been grateful in that moment. Not only did he make it out of a DUI crash alive, but unlike a lot of defendants who resist arrest, he didn't appear to have a scratch on him. He sat there with his shirt completely unbuttoned and a very white belly hanging out with the confidence of, well, a good old boy. A good old boy who has learned nothing after the system gave him chance after chance. Then he started complaining about his head hurting.

I'll skip that part because they had already taken him to the hospital and his scans were clear. Then, Bowen Turner, the man who should have been on his knees thanking the good old boy gods for just giving him another chance, he actually had the audacity to escalate his complaints about his hands, about his head, and about, get this, how they didn't have enough to arrest him. And what do you arrest me for exactly? I have no idea. Oh, but do you have any evidence?

Let's be honest, huh? What is your evidence please? Do you have evidence? Huh? Don't worry. We'll be alright. I'll be honest with you ma'am, I feel like I'm about to choke to death of these damn handcuffs if you don't mind. And that shit is crazy man I called the police because I flipped over and that's how y'all treat me?

This really what y'all about to do be honest ma'am I'm sorry ma'am my hands about damn total death ma'am please unhook these goddamn handcuffs ma'am. Man this shit right here crazy man man But really cuz you got a vendetta this really how you about that Yeah, how am I resist arrest ma'am you sit here I got my goddamn For what you got you got me in handcuffs how marz is an arrest please it Don't worry. Don't worry You got them die bitch. I know how you right as far as this is an arrest, please. Don't worry, don't worry. You got them dyke, bitch.

I know how you actin'. Don't worry about it. And I apologize, I didn't mean to say that. I'm an aggravator. You say what you feel. Well, I did feel that, but I apologize. Well, there you go, no reason to apologize. Well, no, it is a reason to apologize.

My cousin, or my cousin, he kinda does what he does and I've been trying to do better so I apologize. I really do. You know what's going to happen is going to happen but I really do apologize. My cousin he's taught me trying to do better and I really do apologize. I didn't mean to say what I said. You know what I mean? I know what you think about me and you know what I'm saying. But know you think what you think about me, and you know what I'm saying? But I do apologize, because you didn't deserve that, and I didn't deserve to say that. You know what I mean?

Yeah. I really do apologize. Bowen Turner, sitting cushy in the front seat of a cop car after drunkenly flipping his truck and resisting arrest, actually thought that the police had a vendetta against him. He said that. It is like he is completely unaware of people everywhere who get killed by police officers

in similar situations. It is horrifying how someone could have done a year in prison and had so many brushes with law enforcement and yet still be so painfully ignorant. And the homophobic slur was hard to listen to. But gosh was it telling. The other thing I want to point out is his frightening switch from verbal abuse to apology back to verbal abuse. It is a pattern that many abusers know and use to their advantage. We will unpack more of this video right after this short break.

So, honestly, we shortened this video to avoid repetition, in fear that everyone would just turn off their podcast because it is so hard to listen to. His whining is excruciating and repetitive. He says the same few things over and over and over again. In fact, he said the word ma'am more than 120 times. And he just kept going. So are they about to charge me a DUI? For what? But you don't have any evidence? You saw me wreck, that's all you saw. Huh? Or you didn't even see me wreck. Ma'am, can I be honest with you real quick? Huh?

I will tell you what you want to know. If you let me be honest with you real quick. You've been honest with me about 17 times. No ma'am I promise you I will really be honest with you. I don't like how we're going. Pull over real quick and I promise I'll be I'm in handcuffs ma'am there's nowhere I can go. I can't pull you. Ma'am what do you want to know about anything? Ma'am, I was coming home from the Carolina Adventure World. I have not been drinking. I came home and I took that left turn and damn, whatever it was, a water hole caught my wheel and I flipped, okay? But I can tell you, whatever, anywhere in Florence, I can tell you what's going on. It's just basically... But ma'am, I have not...

I try and do my best, okay? I've really been trying. So why are you gonna arrest me? Huh? So why are you going to arrest me? Huh? We're driving out of here. Of what? You haven't breathalyzed me or anything. You're going to get a breathalyzer at the hot side of the jail. Ma'am, why are you doing this? You breathalyze me right now.

Pull over, let's breathalyze. Let's take a breathalyzer. We'll breathalyze you here. We'll pull over at the jail and let's breathalyze me right now pull over let's breathalyze let's take a breath love We'll pull over at the jail unless breath but I want you to breath a lot do we have a deal Do we have a deal? Can I have a cigarette for you. I do not smoke anything. I do not smoke. Me or a chemical highway. I'm going to be around the neighborhood.

And see ma'am, I thought that the hospital's records were closed. So why are you taking me from the hospital? Because I feel pretty sick myself. Why are you acting like this, ma'am? What you got against me? Say what you got against me. Go ahead got against me go ahead and let it be no Yeah, you do I'm treating you fair no you have not don't quit fucking lying I'm sorry

Hey, can we please loosen up these handcuffs because Well, I don't want to pull into jail because once I pull in jail, you... You're in jail. Now, you can't arrest me for something that I have not done. You have to breathalyze me. You've already been arrested. For what? You've already been arrested.

For what? For driving on the ambulance. But you haven't breathalyzed me, so how does that make sense? Don't worry, I know my rights. Okay, that's good. Okay, so in South Carolina, we do not have road cyprolyzers. Instead, they test BAC levels inside the jails. This has become a problem because it gives people time, in this case, a lot of time to sober

up. South Carolina is one of the worst states for DUIs. According to the South Carolina Mothers Against Drunk Driving Group, South Carolina is one of the worst states for DUIs. In fact, we had the fifth most DUI deaths in the country while just being 23rd in population. But that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone given the amount of lawyer lawmakers like Brad Hutto who make their money getting people out of DUIs. Notice how much he's fighting the DUI charge?

It's interesting given that he ultimately refused a breathalyzer and pleaded guilty weeks later, which we will talk about in a minute. Also I get sick to my stomach watching Bowen accuse Officer Sierra Calamaris of lying, when in reality she deserved a gold medal for the way she stayed calm and didn't escalate the situation. I thought about how Bowen and his supporters called Dallas and Chloe liars for all of those years and how little that word means to him. Then Bowen's begging and pleading escalated and he got more aggressive.

Ma'am, can I please go home? Can I please go home? What do you arrest me for? What do you have to prove? Okay, I'll pay my bond ma'am. Can I please go home? Huh? my grandma I Promise you I will go home. I'll do what I'm supposed to do man, please You can meet my parents man, please Can I please go home?

Ma'am, I can't do this again okay will you please listen to me ma'am I can't do this again okay please ma'am go to prick go to jail again ma'am I can't do it again. My grandma will see her before she passes away, ma'am. Please. I will do whatever you want me to do, okay? Please, ma'am. I will do whatever you ask me to do, okay? I will. Please, ma'am.

I can't do this again. I can't watch your girl through that again, ma'am. I'm bars, ma'am. Please. That's all I ask of you. Do you have a bond here in Corm? No, ma'am. I won't watch your girl through that again behind bars, man. Please. That's all I ask of you. Do you have a bond here in Cormorant? No, ma'am.

I won't get a bond. Why won't you? Because I'm already on probation, ma'am. Please, please let me get. What are you on probation for? I'm on probation for assault and battery. Ma'am, please let me go home, ma'am. I promise you, I will never be back over here again. I promise. Please

let me get a bond and let me see my grandma. Okay please. Ma'am I'll do whatever you want me to do. But ma'am will you have the decision right now ma'am I promise I will do what you want me to do. For what. You haven't proved me guilty yet. Ma'am please ma'am I promise I will do what you want me to do ma'am. You're going to jail right now. For what? For driving on the airport. You haven't proved me guilty yet. Ma'am please ma'am. I promise I will do what I'm supposed to do ma'am. I can't send her off like that ma'am. Please ma'am.

Ma'am I'll do whatever you want me to do ma'am. Please. Please ma'am. Ma'am don't do this ma'am. I promise I'll do whatever you want me to do ma'am. I promise. Onam. I promise I'll do whatever you want me to do ma'am. I promise. On my soul, I promise. Please don't do this right now.

You can take me to grandma's house and we'll go there together ma'am. Please ma'am. Ma'am, will you please answer me ma'am? I cannot take you to your grandma's house. Well ma'am, take me to Orange Bear ma'am. I cannot do this ma'am. I can't. Please don't do this. Ma'am take me to Orange Bear ma'am I cannot do this ma'am I can't please don't do this ma'am have I ma'am I've always been respectful to you please don't do this ma'am

ma'am please don't do this I've been respectful please don't do this ma'am ma'am, please, what have I done to deserve this? Will you give me a chance? Can I at least speak my story before you take me to the jail? Can I do that? I'm sorry, but what story would he tell? How he has been accused of rape three separate times? How the victims were bullied so badly that one of them actually killed herself, how he didn't serve a day in prison for Dallas' assault,

how he violated his bond condition over 60 times including that one time when he visited Dallas' grave. That story? How he got a plea deal only of the good old boy God's and still managed to screw that up twice. That story? It is unbelievable that this man actually thought his story would work in his favor.

Notice how he gets to say that he was convicted of assault and battery, not rape, and how much better that sounds. The temper tantrums, peppered with ma'ams, continue. And then the racism sets in. Ma'am, I am a white boy, okay? Can I please speak to you? Ma'am, you can stop five minutes before the jail. Can I please speak to you. Ma'am, you can stop five minutes before the jail.

Can I please speak to you? Ma'am, it is important that I speak to you. Ma'am, I cannot go there. Okay, I feel unsafe. Can I please speak to you? Ma'am, I will tell you whatever you want to know. Ma'am, I cannot go there, ma'am. Ma'am, I cannot go there, ma'am.

Ma'am, I cannot go here. Ma'am, I can't go here, ma'am. Ma'am, ma'am, ma'am. Ma'am, I feel unsafe, ma'am. E991. Ma'am, I can't go here, ma'am. Lawrence. E991.

I'm 1023 at the deal. Ma'am, can I please speak to you? I will tell you what you want to know. I will talk about the deal as well. Ma'am, I'll tell you what you want to know. Ma'am, please don't take me here. Ma'am! Ma'am, I'll tell you what you want to know. I cannot go here.

Ma'am, please can I speak to you? Ma'am, I'll tell you what you want to know. Ma'am, I can't go here. Ma'am, I can't go here. Ma'am, I can't go here. Ma'am, I can't go here. Ma'am, I can't... Ma'am, I can't go here. Ma'am, I'm not joking. Ma'am, I'm in PC. I cannot go here.

I cannot go here, ma'am. Ma'am, will you please, will you please give me a chance, ma'am? Please give me a chance. I can't go here, ma'am. Ma'am, I can't go here. Ma'am, I can't go here. Please give me a chance. Please give me a chance, ma'am. I can't go here. Ma'am, ma'am, I'm asking you. Then he mentions that he's under protective custody, which he is absolutely not.

And he never was. Reporter Beth Braden confirmed this with the South Carolina Department of Corrections on Tuesday. Bowen was sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act and, luckily for him, received a suspended sentence in a secret plea deal, which he now has to serve only because he keeps messing up, which was predictable when you consider that he had been accused of brutally raping

three different girls in three different counties and was allowed to plead guilty to a single charge of assault and battery. When he was last in prison, again for messing up his plea deal, he was housed in the youthful offender dorm away from the general population of adult prisoners. Somehow in Bowen's mind, he thinks that means he had some special designation that makes him above being taken to jail for DUI. It's like he wanted

this patrol officer to think he's some sort of VIP inmate. You know those privileged good ol' boys, always looking for an upgrade. Please give me a chance ma'am, I can't go here ma'am. Ma'am please! Ma'am, just give me a chance ma'am. Ma'am, I promise I will do what you want ma'am, I cannot go here. Ma'am, I'm owner of Protective Custody ma'am, I cannot go here ma'am, please! Ma'am, I cannot go here. Ma'am, I'm owner of protective custody. Ma'am, I cannot go here, ma'am, please. Ma'am, please.

Ma'am, I promise I cannot go here, ma'am, please. Please, please. Ma'am, I cannot go here, ma'am. Ma'am. Ma'am, ma'am, ma'am, I cannot go here. Please listen to me. Please listen to me. I cannot go here. I'm under protective custody. I'm on parole. Ask my probation officer. I'm under protective custody. Please. Ma'am, please. Ma'am, please listen to me. Why are you got, why are you acting like this? You're supposed to be a police officer. Ma'am. At one point in the ride, it was about 12 minutes in, Officer Calamaris quietly radioed into the jail to let them know that she would need help at the Sally Port of the jail. It's the area where patrol officers pull into the jail with their arrestees.

She told them she had a combative subject. Bowen didn't like that one bit. He accused her of being soft and of lying. Man, you soft as fuck. Why are you lying like that? of lying. I'm not lying No, you are saying I'm lying ma'am. I cannot keep doing this ma'am, please Ma'am ma'am. I'm not lying to you. Please undo these handcuffs cuz they're digging in my wrist ma'am, please ma'am please. Ma'am please. Ma'am please ma'am. Ma'am ma'am they are digging in my wrist. Please ma'am, ma'am, they are digging in my wrist. Please, ma'am, please! So now we have to tell you about the most frustrating part of all of this. Unbeknownst

to us and unbeknownst to everyone, it would seem, about two weeks after his arrest, Bowen was allowed to quietly plead guilty to three of his four charges and was sentenced to time served. Time served. That's the 17 days he had spent in jail in Florence County, which is kind of weird when you consider in episode 42, we told you about how he was given a bond of $2,500 for those charges, meaning the only reason he was not released from jail that day, the only reason he served those 17 days before his quickie plea deal, was because victims' advocate attorneys Sarah Ford and Dallas Stoller's father Carl made an effort to be there in Florence to tell the judge that Bowen is a menace to society and ought not be let out

on bond because of his current parole violations. After a very long day, they were able to finally secure a hold for Bowen. So, the Timminsville magistrate judge, Adonachem Hudson, sentenced Bowen to time that he wasn't technically even serving for the charges he was pleading to, though he obviously didn't post bond when he knew he was being held on the parole violation, so I guess an argument could be made otherwise. But most people arrested on a DUI charge don't spend 17 days in jail after their arrest. They get a bond, just like Bowen did, and they leave and then they work it out with the justice system. Often, they lose the ability to drive, except to

certain places. Here is the thing we're trying to wrap our heads around. One of the things, anyway. Bowen's crash and his arrest happened in Florence, which is almost 30 miles away from Timminsville, the town where he was able to enter into his quickie plea deal. Additionally, we're not clear on who represented Bowen in this plea deal. There's no one listed in the public index. Who is his attorney? See, 17 days is an abnormally fast turnaround on a DUI plea deal. Neither of us have ever seen one move that quickly, and people we've spoken to who know about the system and specifically how it works with DUIs have confirmed our thoughts on this. It is a rare thing to see. Beyond that, it's clear that Bowen took advantage of the situation. The situation being that he was already serving time because of his parole. So he finagled a way to apply that to his DUI

sentence because again, most DUI arrests don't spend that kind of time in jail after their bond hearings. But here's something interesting. We FOIAed to find out who else FOIAed for Bowen's dashboard camera footage, thinking we'd find out who his attorney is that way. The list of people who had foisted for it was short. It was us, a true crime Facebook page researcher, a couple of reporters, all of whom we knew, plus a guy named Chad Plebo. Who's that? Great question. We can't find any Chad Plebo in South Carolina. Not in a background check, not in the South Carolina bar directory, not in a newspaper archive search. The only Chad Plebo that comes up in a Google search is a

Californian man described as a luxury wristwatch aficionado who helped put victims in touch with the FBI in a luxury wristwatch scam. So it seems like we might have a fake name here. State Senator Brad Hutto used to be Bowen's attorney. But there's no Brad Hutto on the list. Just a Chad Plebo. Anyway, let's summarize this for you. Bowen Turner was given the gift of all gifts back when he scored his Brad Hutto begotten David Miller assisted, Judge Markley Dennis approved, secret plea deal where he pleaded guilty to a non-sexual assault charge, got a five-year suspended sentence meaning he got to stay out of jail, and not having to register as a sex offender. And Bowen immediately turned around and got caught being a jerk while out drinking underage.

So he ruined that. But then he got another chance. Instead of serving those five years in prison, Bowen served about a year and a half and got released on the anniversary of Dallas Stoller's death. Within four months of that, he was right back here showing all of us once again that second chances are lost on this guy. But no, the system is not done giving him more chances.

You know, those chances he thought he could get by being the world's most annoying man. He got yet another chance when he was allowed to plead guilty just 17 days after his arrest and got time served. It's a spectacular failure and it's insane to us how many times we're back at square one with this guy. Whether it's this or finding out that David Miller had enough votes at one point to become a judge, it seems like these guys don't ever get discouraged by their own failings. They just keep going. We'll be right back. The last thing we want to talk to you about today is the Colucci case.

We are now four weeks away from the start of Michael Colucci's retrial and the 2015 death of his wife Sarah Lynn, who he says either hung herself with a garden hose or tripped and fell into a loop of the garden hose and died. The evidence supports neither scenario and yet here we are, nine years after her death with no resolution. We've heard from so many of you who have gone back to watch the first trial, which is on Court TV's website. If you google Michael Calucci's name and Court TV you will find a landing page for Southern Murder Mystery along with 19 videos of the 10-day trial. We love hearing your feedback

on this because it helps us know what questions we need to get answers for before the retrial starts. And we really love hearing from people who knew Michael and Sarah Lynn who have tidbits of information that help us fill in some blanks. So thank you and keep that coming please. The retrial is going to be a big deal and you will understand why when you see how the first trial went down. It is Murdoch 2.0 but different. Both are circuses. But Elix was like one of those traveling shows that people protest at because of the animal abuse.

And Michael's is like Cirque du Soleil, where you're like, whoa, how did it get twisted like that? One of the biggest things that Michael's high-priced and highly skilled attorney Andy Savage was able to do was twist some of the jurors' perspective about Sarah Lynn and Michael's marriage. Today we are going to talk about that and what the text messages show us about it. During the first trial, the state presented a month of text messages between Sarah Lynn and Michael.

There are a lot, so today we are just going to cover the first half, and we will tell you more about the last two weeks of her life in next week's episode. But real quick, we want to do another update on Michael's bond situation. We've told you how the South Carolina Attorney General's office seems to think that Michael is under house arrest at his parents' house, and how that simply is just not the case, according to police records and other sources close to the situation. Over the past two weeks, we've been sent screenshots of several Facebook posts with photos and a few videos that appeared to show Michael Colucci in Aiken, South Carolina,

where his girlfriend reportedly lives, nearly three hours from the house he is believed to be renting on Edisto Island. We've also been informed that at least one of the people who had posts that appear to show Michael and Aiken has since taken those posts down. If you believe that you have seen Michael violate the terms of his house arrest, please contact the South Carolina Attorney General's office

to report this immediately. Look to the description for contact information. Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's talk about Michael and Sarah Lynn's marriage. As part of our research, we've been watching and rewatching aspects of the first trial. And one thing struck me as funny this past week when I was rewatching Andy Savage's opening statements. He told the jury that they should pay attention to the fact that Michael had no prior incidents of violence.

That's going to be very hard for him to say this go around knowing that we unearthed a lawsuit pointing to an act of violence that Michael admitted to committing. I'm talking about the incident in 2005 when Michael came up on his friend from behind and put him in a chokehold and caused him physical injuries that resulted in $40,000 to $50,000 in medical bills. That's not even mentioning the fact that Michael's girlfriend accused him of doing something similar to her in 2019. That said, Andy Savage was intent on making Michael out to be this calm and loving husband who was simply a caregiver, just caring for a sick wife. Oh, what was her sickness? Well, Andy has a doctor's note that lists Sarah Lynn is

having major depression, but the state says the doctor who had prescribed her medication for depression and anxiety was treating her for mild depression. Now, Andy is of that age where the word depression carries a lot more stigma and he's relying on that stigma to ring true for the jury. He wants the jury to conjure up these black and white images of an unstable woman tearing at her hair and screaming into the abyss before crying and throwing herself under her bed. He wants the jury to understand depression in the most extreme of ways because he needs the jury to believe that Sarah Lynn killed herself that evening. That 20 feet from her husband's watching eyes, she wrapped a garden hose around her neck once without attempting to knot it into place,

that she just sort of let it hang from the fence and then leaned into it I guess. And that her body weight wasn't enough to disrupt the loops of hose that remained at the top of the fence or the hose that remained on the bib hanger. He wants the jury to believe that the answer to any question the jury may have in their heads about why the hose looks mostly undisturbed to be depression. He wants depression to be the answer to every single question the jury has about the unlikelihood of this entire scenario. Why would Sarah Lynn...uh, depression. But how did Sarah Lynn...uh, depression? As people who have had our own battles with mental health and who understand depression personally, it is always offensive to watch

an old school elderly man use it as this label to hang around a person's neck. Andy Savage comes awfully close to saying that Sarah Lynn suffered from hysteria. I'm not kidding, but that's part of the defense. He wants the jury to see Sarah Lynn as crazy and Michael as the beleaguered, but always calm husband who just had to roll with it. Now remember when we told you about how Ivo Calucci's family told police that Michael had a habit of getting him riled up and angry and then recording him being angry so that he could use the video or audio as

blackmail material against Evo, his stepfather, and how Michael preemptively sent a doctor's note about Evo's diagnosis of mild to moderate dementia to the police department so that they'd have it on record and how both of those things came paired with Evo and his family telling police that Evo was scared of Michael and did not want him living with him and Michael's mother. How he did not want Michael serving his house arrest at the house with him. Keep those things in mind because there are a few things that came out in the text messages that this could have been a pattern with Michael. Meaning, it's clear to us that Michael is aware of

the importance of documentation, of staying calm when another person is expressing their anger at him in a documented way, whether over text or over video or over audio. So, Andy's argument that Michael's calm demeanor over text is evidence of this selfless loving husband that he so wants the jury to believe Michael is, is nonsense in our opinion. Also, we're both women who've been in bad relationships. We know what can go down and we know what those text messages can look like. So when we saw Sarah Lynn's text, we immediately understood a few things to be true.

One is that she was absolutely threatening to leave Michael at the time of her death. Two is that their relationship was volatile and Sarah Lynn was aware of how bad it had gotten. Three is that Sarah Lynn was making plans to leave. And 4. Is that Michael seemed to be careful with what he put in writing. His responses are few and far between, but always calm and usually loving. It's not entirely clear whether the state presented all of Michael's responses, but

we highly doubt they kept any back. It's also not clear if he was using the audio message feature in iPhone, where you record a message and once it's been listened to, it disappears. We say that because in places it looks like Sarah Lynn is responding to him in the moment. But the text messages that were presented at trial basically look like every scene in the movie Ghost, where Demi Moore can see Patrick Swayze, but no one else except the audience can.

Michael is Patrick Swayze. He is there, and she is reacting to him, but you don't see him. She seems like a woman familiar with the shtick, who understands that you can get under his skin through texting, whether he responds or not. That said, this is the one thing that the Kaluci case has that the Murdoch case did not.

Proof of a bad marriage. One that showed the impacts of addiction and financial failings. So let's start with April 22nd 2015 which is less than a month before Sarah Lynn's death. In a series of texts from 804 through 815 PM, Sarah Lynn tells Michael, don't come back here. And I don't need your shit another night. She tells him that she's going with a woman named Karen to see her attorney tomorrow because enough is enough for her. She tells Michael to quote, get drunk and bleed out his ass to death. She wrote, I'm not playing with you anymore. Our marriage is over. Go away.

Around two hours later, Sarah Lynn texts Michael to tell him that she's leaving to go to Bilo when she gets off the phone with someone named Britt. Fifteen minutes later, she asks Michael, how long until your drunk ass gets home? And then in a series of texts, she says, I need my car to go to Bilo. I am meeting with the attorney tomorrow at 10.30 a.m. If you come in this house running your loud, drunk-ass mouth, you are done. Once and for all done. Ten minutes later, she asks, you've come and gone?

Then I'm so sad of the day I met and finally married you. I want my car now. Then call me back. The liquor stores are closed. You can pass out now." The next time she texts Michael is at 2.52 a.m. saying, You piece of shit, unlock the door. It's not clear if she's locked outside of the house or if she's locked outside of the

bedroom inside the house. 15 minutes later, she writes, Where are the keys to my car? I am not coming back inside to speak to you or be recorded or hear you yelling, etc. Recorded, you say? Like I said, there seems to be a pattern there with Michael documenting a person's anger with him while he remains calm but then yelling at a person when he's not doing the recording. Sarah Lynn then texts, look bitch give me the keys to the car and grow up and give me the keys please. 30 minutes later, this is almost at 4 a.m. now, she texts Michael again. For some

context, Bishop is Sarah Lynn's daughter from her previous marriage to Michael Viera. After Sarah Lynn married Michael Colucci, Michael adopted Bishop. According to Sarah Lynn's friend Stephanie Merrill, one of the things that excited Sarah about Michael was this idea that they'd raised their girls together and be a family. Which is not what ended up happening. raise their girls together and be a family, which is not what ended up happening. Additionally, because of this adoption, Sarah Lynn's family had to fight Michael Colucci to get custody of Bishop after Sarah Lynn's death. It took Michael getting arrested for Sarah Lynn's death in 2016 to get the court to

agree. Here's what Sarah Lynn wrote to Michael between 4 and 5 AM on April 23rd, a few weeks before her mysterious death. Quote, I am going to calm down for a moment before I go to Walmart. I already know that Bishop and I will have to go to a, quote, woman's shelter because you are not going to leave. I will see my attorney tomorrow at 11 a.m. We can have an advocate escort Bishop and I

while we get our things together. Either way, you, quote, being in charge, gives me no other choice legally. I hope you are happy with the way you found me and the persons you have, quote, molded me into with your controlling ways. I've got family to attest to the strain you have put me under,

making it impossible for me to function as I did 32 years prior to us meeting. Also, the adoption can be reversed. It's whatever the attorney says I should do from here. I hope you're proud of yourself. Feels like deja vu, I bet. Lastly, as you do, I simply want out. I don't wanna hear what you think of me any longer

unless it's positive. I'll extend the same respect to you so we can get the situation behind the both of us ASAP and I can move on with my life. I'm not suggesting mediation any longer either. I don't trust your intent with anything. Nevermind you being civil enough to waste time with mediation.

So at the beginning of his opening statements, Andy Savage introduced his wife Cheryl to the jury. He said she's sitting at the defense table with Michael and Cheryl works with him in his office. He also tells them that they've been married a long time and that she is the person who he has marital arguments with. Basically, he was trying to normalize Michael's marriage with Sarah Lynn in that moment, which is super hard to reconcile when you read these texts. In that last series of texts to Michael, we learn that Sarah Lynn feels like Michael has changed her for the worse. It seems like this is a fight they've had before because she makes the assumption that even though the house belongs to her parents, Michael won't leave it so therefore she and Bishop will have to

leave. We learn that Sarah Lynn doesn't trust Michael or his intent. She also seems to be referencing a notion that Michael believes himself to be in charge. Additionally, we learn that Sarah Lynn believes Michael has been here before, likely in his divorce from Camilla, which Sarah Lynn was present for part of. Sarah Lynn's texts pick back up at 11 that morning, where she instructs Michael to call a woman who has an appointment at 3.30pm. It's not clear what this is about, but Sarah Lynn writes, You obligated yourself to $1900 and $500 is due today. I could tell you how to deal with it tactfully, but I'm not telling you what you could have or should have done ever again. Here we learn that the two seem to have had some sort of argument where Michael disregarded something

Sarah Lynn suggested doing and it ended up being worse. It also seems like Sarah Lynn is pointing out another financial failing of Michael's. And yes, all these texts from Sarah and still no written text response from Michael, but there are indications he might be responding in person or over the phone, or like we said, maybe it's even in audio messages which disappear two minutes after listening to them. Twenty minutes after Sarah Lynn's last text, she texts Michael and says, quote,

And I'm not being a bitch in any way, shape or form. Before explaining that she went to search for a missing kitten. She tells Michael that he needs to call someone named Karen and tells Michael that he was rude to Karen the night before. A little after 4pm, she texts Michael to tell him that his parents need to pick up Michael's young daughter, Milan, from school. She mentions quote, if Connie is still there, which she probably is. Then she notes that Milan, Michael's daughter, asked to see them this morning. Then quote, and if it's 4pm now and you're

going to start handling business, when are you going to pick up Milan from Connie's? She doesn't live there. Obviously, we don't know the details here, but it seems like this is a sore point for Sarah Lynn, and that she's indicating that she thinks Michael doesn't take responsibility for his daughter. Two hours later, Sarah Lynn texts Michael, No wonder we are getting divorced, dude. A payment plan? I speak clear English.

You don't listen to anyone. Ever. Then, as you slept, I dealt with this shit for 40 minutes. Give up. Your head is bad. Two minutes later, she writes, I'm coming by the store. I've got a key. I won't be back here tonight or tomorrow. I've got other things to take care of. Me. Again, there's no text from Michael during this time, but Sarah Lynn seems to be referencing the ongoing and in-the-moment argument that they're having. There was also no indication that Sarah went to her lawyer's office that day.

It doesn't mean that she didn't, but she doesn't mention it over text. Around 6.30 that evening, she texts Michael, Tell Camilla to never contact me again. I am not your messenger. I am going to the shelter. Enjoy the house I built. By the way, the house is in pre-foreclosure status. My parents are not going to allow that to happen,

but they are not going to allow you to live there either. Think hard and play your cards right, Michael. Game on. Camilla is Michael's ex-wife and the mother of their daughter, Milan. A little after 10 p.m., Sarah texts, Connie is being a bitch. I told her I had something to do and thought that she had spoken to you. She was very rude. What do you want me to do?" Then 17 minutes later, in more than 24 hours into the string of text messages in which it is clear that there have been multiple two-sided disputes throughout the day, Michael

finally has a response for Sarah. He writes, Nothing. I will handle it. Love you. And I will be home soon. Sarah's response to that was, I just thought that was handled. These people aren't into full-time parenting for free.

Again, an indication that Sarah Lynn felt like Michael was irresponsible when it came to his daughter. 20 minutes later, Michael writes again, Sarah, I just took care of Connie. I'll be home when I have greenbacks. I'm done with all the pain. We are too good for this. I love you.

Sarah Lynn asks him when. Then she asks him where he is. Then she says, have a good night and be careful making your deal with the devil. I'm leaving here ASAP. To which Michael responds, Babe, I love you. She responds, where are you at 11 at night

getting greenbacks? It's important if you." She responds, Where are you at 11 at night getting greenbacks? It's important if you end up missing, but in all actuality, I don't care. I'm leaving in the illegal beagle. See you later. So, no idea what an illegal beagle is? Or even what they're referencing when they say greenbacks. Do they mean money? If so, why don't they just say money?

The main takeaway here is that it seems like Michael is doing something sketchy, right? Why would she think that he would go missing otherwise? A little after 11 p.m., Sarah Lynn texts Michael, I'm trying to have a cab pick me up. I'm literally too weak to drive. I hope there are some funds in the store account. Michael responds, Sarah, please, I will be home soon and you do not need to get a cab.

I will have cash and you have a car. Now, again, Andy Savage doesn't want the jury to believe that Michael and Sarah Lynn were having financial pressures. But those texts sure do paint that picture. It seems like Michael is imposing on a friend to take care of his daughter. That this friend isn't appreciating that. That Sarah Lynn wants to take a cab but can't be sure that they have enough money to do that. But the prosecution breezed through this narrative, and we can see how the jury missed that. This is just a window into what their marriage looked like

through their text messages in Sarah's last month alive. Those texts we just shared with you were over the course of a day and a half. The prosecution presented hundreds of text messages between April 22nd and Sarah Lynn's death, showing strife in their marriage. Andy Savage tried to get more text messages admitted into evidence, specifically three months prior to the text that the state chose to show, specifically three months prior to the text that the state chose to show. But the judge denied this request. There are several texts when Sarah Lynn tells Michael to go away and leave her alone.

On May 1st, she wrote, Stop kissing me when I'm sleeping. Stop trying to be in my presence. I do not like you. Scream at someone else because you can't talk to your male friend on the phone. You ruined my life." She repeatedly tells him he ruined her life. She repeatedly tells him that she hopes that he dies of a heart attack and that she wants him gone and she tells him she's not in love with him and even though he ruined her life she's not going to let him ruin bishop's life. After a litany of texts like that Michael's only response was, I love you so much I have not gone far. I am at the gas station and we'll see you soon. I

Mean he could have deleted texts that's possible But guys from this that is the man's only response after dozens of text messages Telling him he's the worst man on earth If you haven't been in an emotionally abusive relationship with a narcissist, you might think this is a normal way for him to respond. But a lot of times, narcissists ignore their partners as a mechanism of control and as another way to devalue their feelings. Ignoring is a way to show their partners that their worst words have no effect over them.

It is maddening and exhausting to be on the other end. Andy Savage wants the jury to believe that Michael Colucci was just so used to handling his wife's illness, meaning her depression and, according to Andy, alcoholism, that he knew how to calm her down. But we see the potential for something else here, given Michael's apparent record with recording people in the middle of their outbursts. At this point, Michael is well aware that Sarah Lynn has turned on him and wants to end their marriage.

He knows this game. He's been divorced before. He knows that putting things in writing will not bode well for him. But again, there are signs of what was happening outside of the text messages. For instance, Sarah Lynn texted Michael in late afternoon two weeks before her death saying, Don't you ever talk to me in front of anyone like that again. You have a lot of nerve. I won't lose my house. Later that day, she tells him, keep chasing your tail, meanwhile losing your ass.

It seems like Sarah Lynn was trying to hit Michael where it hurts, pointing out what a failure of a husband he was to her. Specifically, what a financial failure he was. Her texts blatantly call him out for abusive behavior, such as yelling at her, and she appears to have suspected that he was unfaithful to her. Again, we will talk more about that in the next few weeks. For now, we will leave you with this observation. Sarah Lynn made a number of threats about leaving.

She insulted Michael. She called him names. She called him out. She even appears to have copied and pasted some texts and blasted him with the same thing over and over. What she didn't ever do in the texts that we have read so far is threaten to harm herself. There is no evidence of suicidal thoughts that we see. No evidence of major depression. At least not in the way of inertia. She seems like she is rearing to go, ready to leave, or at least ready for Michael to believe that she was leaving for good. She talks about the future with Bishop.

Not one time that we could see does she ever express a desire to leave this world. She just wanted to leave Michael, and she wanted to start her life over in the house that she built with her parents, the house she lived in with her daughter, the house that represented a fresh start for both of them before she even knew who Michael Colucci was. Sarah Lynn wanted to take control over her life again.

She had a plan to do that. She had a desire to do that. She was so close to getting that control again. And Michael was used to controlling the relationship. And suddenly he was losing that control. Sounds like that is a pretty clear motive for the prosecution to present to the jury, right? How did they manage to muck that up so badly?

And will the AG's office learn from their mistakes when the case goes to retrial in May? We have a lot more coming with the Kaluji case in the next few weeks. Lunashark Premium members, get ready for an action-packed month ahead. Stay tuned, stay pesky, and co-hosted by journalist Liz Farrell. Learn more about our mission and membership at lunasharkmedia.com. Interruptions provided by Luna and Joe Pesky.